Blue Perfection- What Is The Perfect Chicken Blue ~~Discussion~~

[Sonoran Silkies]

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I doubt if he'll lay many eggs....<ducks>.

They always need a handsome man to protect them and find the extra-delicious bugs, though.

 

[Birch Run Farm]

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He is indeed very handsome!

A question for the expoerience folks, some of my chicks hatch with blue down but then feather in black. What is that dynamic? I am surprised and a bit confused. Also, I have some chicks born with brown colored down on their heads and blackish body down that feather out blue!

 

[Krys109uk]

I've had those sorts of things happen & can only say what I've presumed is the cause.

The chicks which hatch blue & feather up black are probably genetically blue, but dark.

Your other chicks with brown on their faces can be birchen downed or, in my experience, being 'split' at the e-locus can, sometimes, give a similar effect. I've also had blue chicks whose down looks so dark that it looks black, & can only be seen to be blue next to a black chick.

 

[The Chicken Lady]

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He is stunning!!

As far as blue "in general"... I like it when the bird has really nice lacing all over all of their feathers. I think the contrasting light and dark colors look amazing.

 

[destiny_56085]

I have a silkie chick that is confusing me.... I have a pen of splash where I know the rooster and a couple of the hens carry the lavendar gene too. There is also a nice blue hen in that pen that throws the dark blues.

This is that baby at 3 months....

And now at 5 months.... pretty sure it is a cockerel now.

No apparent splashing on it yet. Very light andulsian blue or possibly a self blue?

The pullet in the middle of this pic is one of my favorite blues from this year. Nice even color...not too dark or light.

This is one of my 3 year old hens:

And this is my dark/almost navy blue Mihalik bred rooster:

 

[Birch Run Farm]

Love your dark rooster!

 

[shelleyd2008]

destiny, I could be wrong, but I do believe that cockerel is a splash.

 

[destiny_56085]

Not sure on that cockerel either. When you examine it closely (hard to get a pic of), there are no dark feathers intermixed anywhere. I'm just curious if it will be a light blue or a lavendar?

I know my splash carry the lavendar. They threw them last year definitely. I've also had quite a few people get chicks from em this year and report back that they had lavendars too. I have silver gened whites too and they all look rather the same at hatching.

Here are some other pics from last year of chicks out of these same birds:

In comparison... the lavendar/splash out of the same pen:

 

[WestKnollAmy]

Here are a few of my blue copper Marans. I like them very well. I am afraid some birds do not hold the blue as well when they grow up as when they are young so I take plenty of photos.....albeit, not good ones. Between sunburn and molting, the older ones aren't always as lovely and "fresh".

 

[Birch Run Farm]

Nadine,

I don't dare post photos of my sunbleached blue ameraucana hens, no one would think they are blue! Looking forward to their molting new feathers.